Lightning

The Lightning fighter craft is mainly used by the Imperial Navy for establishing air superiority due to its increased maneuverability over the Thunderbolt. It is often seen and heard plummeting from orbit or being scrambled from naval bases.[1a]

Tactical Role

The main role of the aircraft is to engage enemy craft and establish air-superiority over a battlefield, with a secondary mission of providing air escort for Marauder Bombers. For this reason they are often based on orbiting ships or forward air bases, where their rocket booster allows them to quickly take off and engage enemy air forces.[1a] Ground-based Lightnings can also benefit from hydraulic "fast-launch" ramps which, in combination with their rocket booster engine, provides better acceleration and faster take-off time than conventional VTOL craft. Standard practice has three to four Lightnings so poised in a constant state of readiness. Although not their primary function, Lightnings may also act as a ground attack aircraft, with free license to attack targets of opportunity. This role however is better suited to the Lightning Strike.[1c]

Technical Specifications

The Lightning uses a swept-wing design and twin F100-XB afterburning turbofans to give it superior speed and better rate of climb and dive compared to the Thunderbolt, although it is lighter, less rugged and more demanding on maintenance crews. Like the Thunderbolt, it also features a rocket booster engine which allows for quick take-offs when using a "fast-launch" ramp and for limited operational capability in space, although it is not a true "starfighter" like the Fury Interceptor.[1a]

At the time of its introduction, the aircraft represented a new paradigm in aerial warfare for the Imperium of Man, being powered by a forced-plasma ramjet drive and optimized for the most sophisticated munitions available. However the pattern proved extremely costly to produce and could only be handled by the most experienced pilots.[4]